Having resisted the urge to observe only what I expected, I find that what I observed is what I expected: a wide range of behaviors indicating that some students are more interested or attentive than others, and that some students are excellent at acting as if they are interested or attentive.
Ms. Shapiro, my 9th Grade biology CT, has set up her classroom very cleverly. The classrooms are longer than they are wide with the "front" of the classroom being a longer side. Windows facing the street are on the opposite long wall. To the front left of the classroom, Ms. Shapiro keeps her desk. In the back of the classroom along the windows are workbenches for labs. Spanned out across the room are seven groups of four desks. Ms. Shapiro doesn't stand at the conventional "front" of the classroom but to the left of it, clear of the SMARTboard she uses to present. On this day, Ms. Shapiro handed out notes on carbon footprints and environmental impact. Part of the handout included a "Carbon Footprint Survey" which had a roughly scaled guide to see what ones own carbon footprint might be. That self-determined information could then be compared to the information in the notes. Ms. Shapiro allowed one class to talk quietly about their responses as they completed the survey. Another class that becomes particularly off-task, however, was required to complete the survey silently. For the first class, once the students were done, Ms. Shaprio facilitated a discussion on what individual carbon footprints consist of. She had the students discuss at their groups ways of reducing their carbon footprints and then she and the students returned as a class and shared findings. For the second class, she did not give them the chance to go off--task and facilitated the discussion immediately.
Ms. Shapiro places her more rambunctious groups at the front of the class and has placed her more on-task groups in the back of the class to use proximity as a classroom management style. She doesn't travel about the class that much as her students seem primarily self-motivated and predisposed as engaged learners.
I find student engagement to be a vital part of my view on how I will teach. I would like each student's voice to be heard not only by myself, but by his or her peers. In matters of science, everyone has an opinion, but everyone must also acknowledge fact and evidence. I think an interesting way to keep students engaged is by using things like surveys to show exactly how what we're learning about relates to daily life. On top of the type of work we'd be doing in my classroom, I also want to use graphic organizers displayed in the class that show how each topic and unit is related - a large scale mind map, perhaps. I also find that moving around the classroom, using appropriate body language and relevant gestures, as well as physical models and tactile samples would help to encourage student engagement.
Proximity is a great way to provide feedback to students about their behavior and performance. For an off-task student, approaching his or her desk will often be enough to inspire the student to return to the task. Sometimes a gentle word, reminder, or prompt for redirection is necessary. Proximity is also a great way to see what students are writing in "real time", which would allow me to either correct if needed or provide encouragement and praise.
Ms. Shapiro, my 9th Grade biology CT, has set up her classroom very cleverly. The classrooms are longer than they are wide with the "front" of the classroom being a longer side. Windows facing the street are on the opposite long wall. To the front left of the classroom, Ms. Shapiro keeps her desk. In the back of the classroom along the windows are workbenches for labs. Spanned out across the room are seven groups of four desks. Ms. Shapiro doesn't stand at the conventional "front" of the classroom but to the left of it, clear of the SMARTboard she uses to present. On this day, Ms. Shapiro handed out notes on carbon footprints and environmental impact. Part of the handout included a "Carbon Footprint Survey" which had a roughly scaled guide to see what ones own carbon footprint might be. That self-determined information could then be compared to the information in the notes. Ms. Shapiro allowed one class to talk quietly about their responses as they completed the survey. Another class that becomes particularly off-task, however, was required to complete the survey silently. For the first class, once the students were done, Ms. Shaprio facilitated a discussion on what individual carbon footprints consist of. She had the students discuss at their groups ways of reducing their carbon footprints and then she and the students returned as a class and shared findings. For the second class, she did not give them the chance to go off--task and facilitated the discussion immediately.
Ms. Shapiro places her more rambunctious groups at the front of the class and has placed her more on-task groups in the back of the class to use proximity as a classroom management style. She doesn't travel about the class that much as her students seem primarily self-motivated and predisposed as engaged learners.
I find student engagement to be a vital part of my view on how I will teach. I would like each student's voice to be heard not only by myself, but by his or her peers. In matters of science, everyone has an opinion, but everyone must also acknowledge fact and evidence. I think an interesting way to keep students engaged is by using things like surveys to show exactly how what we're learning about relates to daily life. On top of the type of work we'd be doing in my classroom, I also want to use graphic organizers displayed in the class that show how each topic and unit is related - a large scale mind map, perhaps. I also find that moving around the classroom, using appropriate body language and relevant gestures, as well as physical models and tactile samples would help to encourage student engagement.
Proximity is a great way to provide feedback to students about their behavior and performance. For an off-task student, approaching his or her desk will often be enough to inspire the student to return to the task. Sometimes a gentle word, reminder, or prompt for redirection is necessary. Proximity is also a great way to see what students are writing in "real time", which would allow me to either correct if needed or provide encouragement and praise.